Recent advances in sound transmission technology have lead to the development of new and improved hearing aids, head sets, musical ear buds, sound isolation earphones, telephone hand sets and other devices designed specifically to transmit sound to the human ear. Certain devices such as telephone hand sets and head sets are designed to fit over the outer ear and are held in place either by hand or by means of a head band or ear hook, which frees up the hands for note taking or other activities which may be performed simultaneously while receiving information via the hand set or head set.
Other devices such as medical devices including but not limited to catheters, microsurgical tools, drug delivery devices and hearing aids, musical ear buds, ear plugs and both wired and wireless cellular telephone and other telecommunication accessories are pressed into the outer ear partially penetrating the ear canal and may be employed in performing medical procedures, drug deliveries and as straightforward sound transmitting systems. Hearing aids, on the other hand, provide a dual function by not only transmitting sound to the ear drum, but also by increasing sound isolation for hearing-impaired individuals and by selectively suppressing certain sound frequencies and/or modulating the amplitude of background or so-called “white noise”. Ear plugs and hearing protection headsets, by contrast, are normally worn by individuals working in environments such as airports, factories, construction sites or around noisy machinery such as earth moving and farming equipment, mowing equipment, automobile racing stadiums and so forth where prolonged exposure to continuous elevated noise levels or to sudden explosive-like noises would be permanently damaging to hearing. Such devices may be referred to collectively as “in-the-ear devices” or “in-the-canal devices” (which terms will be used interchangeably herein) as opposed to “ear covering devices”, such as the head sets described above.
As anyone who has used an in-the-ear device knows, a common problem associated with their use is proper fit in the outer portion of the ear canal. Manufacturers of these devices typically configure them to fit the average ear canal dimension, to the extent that that dimension can be determined, or, alternatively, may offer several different sizes—small, medium and large. Currently, in-the-ear devices are offered with several types of ear sleeves adapted for insertion into the ear canal. Typically, each sleeve includes one to three flanges or fins of progressively decreasing diameter, and one known device has five such flanges or fins. All of these devices are inserted no more than ¼ inch into the ear. The outermost flange is too large to be inserted into the ear, and the second and third flanges are too small in diameter to make full contact with the ear canal wall. However, this approach, at best, provides the user with an imprecise and uncomfortable fit, and, of greater significance, reduces the performance and effectiveness of the particular device, regardless of its intended function, be it transmission, enhancement, suppression or a combination of the foregoing, because the size of the flanges or fins cannot be increased to make full contact with the walls of the ear canal to occlude sound and cannot be lengthened due to the overall space limitations in the ear canal. This can be particularly troublesome and potentially even dangerous, as in the case of communication devices which find application in the military, police, fire fighting, motor car racing and emergency services fields where clarity and precision of communication is critical, and where the devices must frequently be worn for extended periods of time, often under harsh conditions.
Sound emitting devices with expanding earpieces are known in the art. One such device is disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2007/0116319 A1 published by Hagberg, May 24, 2007. The Hagberg device includes an expandable earpiece which fits inside the inner ear canal and a compressible element filled with fluid that is connected to the expandable portion. The user of the device may selectively adjust the fit by controlling the amount of compression in the compressible element via controlling the fluid transfer between the two elements. However, this apparatus does not provide the desired features for controlling noise suppression and/or cancellation, sound quality enhancement, and so forth. Moreover, it does not allow contraction from the preset expansion for easy removal.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,362,875 issued Apr. 22, 2008 to Saxton et al., discloses a self-expanding hearing device adapted for use in the ear canal which requires that the user compress a frame supporting a membrane prior to insertion of the device into the ear. Upon release of the compression, the frame expands into the ear canal, thereby lodging the apparatus in place. However, this system does not permit selective adjustment of the fit, nor does it provide any sound management capability, which is required under many of the aforementioned conditions of use. It also does not allow for contraction from the preset expansion for easy removal.
In view of the foregoing, it can be seen that a need exists for a technology delivery, positioning and sound management system for use with in-the-canal devices which will provide a user with an easily adjustable fitting mechanism that will permit the user to not only adjust the pressure of the fitting elements according to his or her personal comfort needs, but also to permit the user to adjust the depth of insertion of the apparatus in the ear canal so as to position sound management technologies closer to the ear drum.